Najib Razak said he did not register with a phone app, as required, after arriving at a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. “I confess,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “I accept both criticism and insight.” …
Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak is appealing last year’s conviction on charges of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars. And he is fighting similar charges in four more trials. But there is one violation he freely admits: breaking a coronavirus rulein a restaurant.
“I confess,” he wrote on his Facebook page on Friday. “I accept both criticism and insight.”
Mr. Najib’s infraction occurred when he went to eat at the Chee Meng Chicken Rice Shop in Kuala Lumpur but did not register with a phone app, as required, on arrival. He called it an “accidental mistake.”
A video widely shared on social media showed him and his entourage casually strolling into the restaurant.
He encouraged the authorities to issue the appropriate fine of about $365, and said he would take advantage of an “early-bird” special offered by the government. If he pays the fine within seven days, he noted, he would get a 50 percent discount.
1Malyasia Development Berhad or 1MDB, Mr. Najib’s ruling coalition lost its grip on power in the 2018 elections for the first time since independence in 1957. He was ousted as prime minister but re-elected to Parliament by his district.
He has been accused of siphoning off at least $4.5 billion from the fund, which he created and oversaw. Much of the money is said to have ended up in his personal back account and in
